Charter school, again

The charter school argument for those from this city includes almost none of our elected public officials.

That tells you something right there.

Senator Thomas McGee won’t step up to plate and hasn’t.

Representative Steve Walsh was against a charter school in this city last year but has apparently taken the posture that he won’t advocate for one but isn’t any longer against it.

The mayor and the school superintendent are like Siamese twins.

Their views cannot be separated and they tend to think remarkably alike.

And on and on and on.

Last week’s editorial decrying the situation was not intended as a slap at English High School, which has had its fair share of awards and plaudits.

It was more of a slap at the city’s leadership, which seems to be protecting the public school system whose reading scores are ranked 297th out of 335. In other words, for all the efforts going on in the public schools, this city ranks in the lowest 12th percentile of public schools in the state.

This is a sad fact of reality.

It is difficult for some parents to envision their children attending schools whose students, overall, do so poorly when compared with all the students in public school in Massachusetts.

But to have your elected public officials and school superintendent stand opposed to the coming of a charter school because it will somehow hurt the public schools is a pretext that cannot stand.

It is our opinion that Senator McGee ought to know better. Besides, his own children don’t attend Lynn’s public schools.

Rep. Walsh, you can be sure, won’t be sending his young son to a public school here. He didn’t attend public school in Lynn, either.

But then, as in Walsh’s case, what’s wrong with graduating from St. John’s Prep. Is that something to be ashamed of? Did his parents make the wrong decision not sending him to Lynn’s public schools?

We don’t believe so.

As for the superintendent, she’s just carrying the party line for the teachers union and the Flanagan-Kennedy administration.

They all agree, the public schools here should be the only choice for parents with kids who need to be educated in this city.

There’s no room for excellence.

Excellence, many of our most highly educated and powerful leaders believe,  would take away from everything else going on in the public schools, which again, are ranked 297 out of 335.

Simply put, there should be a choice – and no one living in this city should be criticized or told they’re going to ruin the public schools by seeking something better for their kids.